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Garbage removal to be streamlined in Yelagiri Hills

The local body has already obtained a tractor and trailer

The local body at Yelagiri Hills will soon put in place a proper garbage removal and disposal mechanism in this popular tourist destination. It is taking steps to engage garbage collection vehicles and create manpower to keep the tourism spot clean and free from garbage.

Yelagiri has been facing problems of garbage collection and disposal for sometime now. The Jolarpet Panchayat Union and Yelagiri Hills panchayat have approached the hotels' association at Yelagiri to come forward to help them keep the hill clean. The local body has already obtained a tractor and trailer, thanks to sponsorship, and is waiting for registration of the tractor.

“This plan has been pending for almost a year now. We held a meeting with the hotels' association at Yelagiri nearly a year ago. We asked them to contribute towards managing garbage disposed of by small and big hotels and also by the public. There are more than 50 small and big hotels here. They have come forward to support the initiative,” chairman of Jolarpet panchayat union R. Kirubakaran said.

Once the vehicle is registered, the panchayat would engage a driver and also rope in sanitary workers to collect garbage from hotels and also remove garbage from the roads twice a week.

A member of the Yelagiri Hills panchayat said that they had approached the hotels' association through the Block Development Officer and panchayat. “We have asked the hotels to contribute a sum of money towards the collection of garbage from their establishments, according to the size of the hotel. The money will be collected by the panchayat and used for paying salary to the driver and sanitary workers and for buying diesel for the tractor,” he said.

A resolution to put in place this cleaning mechanism was adopted during a meeting, he said, adding, “Most probably, the garbage will be cleared on Monday and Thursday every week. We have identified a site at Nilavoor to dump the garbage. The land will be dug for 10 feet and garbage dumped into it. This arrangement is being done to dispose the garbage properly,” he said.

Mr. Kirubakaran said that as Yelagiri was gaining popularity among tourists, this initiative would help them maintain cleanliness .